Australian man arrested in Bali on cocaine charges

Police officers escort an Australian man identified only as Brandon at a local police headquarters in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018. The man faces up to 20 years in prison in Indonesia after being arrested for allegedly possessing cocaine on the resort island of Bali. (AP Photo/Nyoman Hendra)

DENPASAR, Indonesia — An Australian man faces up to 20 years in prison in Indonesia after being arrested for allegedly possessing cocaine on the resort island of Bali.

The chief of Denpasar district police, Hadi Purnomo, said Thursday the 43-year-old man, whom he identified only as Brandon, was arrested with his Indonesian girlfriend at a rented room last Saturday in the tourist hotspot of Kuta.

He said police found 11.6 grams of cocaine packed into 13 plastic bags.

Purnomo told reporters that the man, identified by Indonesian news site Kumparan as Brandon Johnson, had been living in Bali for four years and was a designer or architect.

He faces between five and 20 years in prison if found guilty.

Indonesia has very strict drug laws and convicted traffickers can be executed by firing squad.